Better Reading Italian : A Reader and Guide to Improving Your Understanding of Written Italian
by Daniela Gobetti
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List Price: $12.95
Our Price: $7.39
Your Save: $ 5.56 ( 43% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 458.6421
EAN: 9780071391382
ISBN: 007139138X
Label: McGraw-Hill
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2003-02-25
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Studio: McGraw-Hill
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Better Reading Italian
Comment: A good learning tool for the intermediate to advanced student, Not a dual language reader so you must be on the higher intermediate side. Very good.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent source for intermediate students
Comment: I disagree with the reviewer who said that this book was not helpful and who had been studying Italian for a year in Italy. Reading Italian and learning Italian in a class are two different things. If you're living in Italy, you're using the language more to communicate verbally and aurally. So unless you read the newspaper, in the early stages of language acquisition, your strengths are not in reading - they are in listening, communication, and reading only to the extent of the basics. This book takes you beyond the basics. This book is certainly not for beginners, and I also disagree that the selections are boring. Many of the selections are from world famous authors!! This book is helpful to people who have done or are doing an intermediate Italian course and are just moving into more intermediate studies. There is some helpful and useful vocabularly in the book.
The selections that were selected are hallmarks of Italian literature, and I found that after reading the selections that I wanted to know more about the books or articles that these selections were drawn.
So my point...
If you are a beginner, this book is *not* for you. The reading selections are probably going to be difficult. There are better items out there for a beginner.
If you have been studying Italian for at least 2 years, then this is a great place to start to learn some specialized vocabulary and familiarize yourself with Italian literature and other written sources.
Ignore the reviewer who says that this book is boring and evaluate the book for yourself if you feel you are at that level.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not very interesting selection; difficult references
Comment: The introduction to this book states that "learning to read a foreign language means learning how to understand texts that are aimed at native speakers and therefore take for granted references, contexts, and levels of understanding that are mysterious to foreigners." In other words, this is not a book with selections written for students of Italian. I have been living in Italy & studying Italian for a year and have a decent command of the language. Even so, I have difficulty with the references in this book, especially in the many poetry selections. I think this book would be even more frustrating for someone who has not spent considerable time in-country. It is NOT written at a beginner level or aimed at casual students of the language. Furthermore, I found the selections rather boring reading. If I had it do over again, I would buy one of the short-story books.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A different approach, less textbook, more challenge
Comment: While there is still a set of comprehension questions at the end of each feature story, one of the things I like most about this book is that it helps you begin to bridge the gap from "textbook" books on Italian, and to start jumping into "regular" books in Italian. That, and the fact that the articles have a variety of subject matter, from sports to poetry to industry, etc.
This is not a book that I've been working through from start to finish, but one I pick up occasionally to supplement the other things I've been reading/working with, from "Italian Verb Drills" workbook by Nanni-Tate, to the copy of the Corriere Della Sera I brought home from my last trip.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Better Reading Italian
Comment: A good learning tool for the intermediate to advanced student, Not a dual language reader so you must be on the higher intermediate side. Very good.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent source for intermediate students
Comment: I disagree with the reviewer who said that this book was not helpful and who had been studying Italian for a year in Italy. Reading Italian and learning Italian in a class are two different things. If you're living in Italy, you're using the language more to communicate verbally and aurally. So unless you read the newspaper, in the early stages of language acquisition, your strengths are not in reading - they are in listening, communication, and reading only to the extent of the basics. This book takes you beyond the basics. This book is certainly not for beginners, and I also disagree that the selections are boring. Many of the selections are from world famous authors!! This book is helpful to people who have done or are doing an intermediate Italian course and are just moving into more intermediate studies. There is some helpful and useful vocabularly in the book.
The selections that were selected are hallmarks of Italian literature, and I found that after reading the selections that I wanted to know more about the books or articles that these selections were drawn.
So my point...
If you are a beginner, this book is *not* for you. The reading selections are probably going to be difficult. There are better items out there for a beginner.
If you have been studying Italian for at least 2 years, then this is a great place to start to learn some specialized vocabulary and familiarize yourself with Italian literature and other written sources.
Ignore the reviewer who says that this book is boring and evaluate the book for yourself if you feel you are at that level.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not very interesting selection; difficult references
Comment: The introduction to this book states that "learning to read a foreign language means learning how to understand texts that are aimed at native speakers and therefore take for granted references, contexts, and levels of understanding that are mysterious to foreigners." In other words, this is not a book with selections written for students of Italian. I have been living in Italy & studying Italian for a year and have a decent command of the language. Even so, I have difficulty with the references in this book, especially in the many poetry selections. I think this book would be even more frustrating for someone who has not spent considerable time in-country. It is NOT written at a beginner level or aimed at casual students of the language. Furthermore, I found the selections rather boring reading. If I had it do over again, I would buy one of the short-story books.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A different approach, less textbook, more challenge
Comment: While there is still a set of comprehension questions at the end of each feature story, one of the things I like most about this book is that it helps you begin to bridge the gap from "textbook" books on Italian, and to start jumping into "regular" books in Italian. That, and the fact that the articles have a variety of subject matter, from sports to poetry to industry, etc.
This is not a book that I've been working through from start to finish, but one I pick up occasionally to supplement the other things I've been reading/working with, from "Italian Verb Drills" workbook by Nanni-Tate, to the copy of the Corriere Della Sera I brought home from my last trip.
New reading series brings foreign language acquisition into the 21st century While the world produces more and more reading material each year, from magazines to newspapers to websites, why are most language learners still relying on contrived texts and classic literature for language acquisition? Providing entertaining contemporary texts in the original language, the Better Reading Language series is for those who want to brush up on a foreign language. With the authentic materials provided in this series, readers will be able to peruse a Latin Grammys write-up in Spanish, a feature on Alain Ducasse's favorite recipes in French, or a review of a Milan fashion show in Italian. Readings on everything from music and sports to cinema and contemporary family life are arranged in increasing difficulty within chapters. Along the way, learners will find instruction and exercises to help develop improved reading speed, comprehension, and vocabulary.
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